Desk mount



Sept 29 1954 Y I G. E. NlcHoLs 3,150,777

' nEsK'MoUNT j 1 Filed Aug. 25, 1963 2 sheets-sheet 1 Sept 29 1964 G. E. NlcHoLs 3,150,777

DESK-MOUNT Filed Aug. 2s, 196s 2 sheets-sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,150,777 DESK MOUNT Gordon E. Nichols, Middleboro, Mass., assignor to Winthrop-Atkins Co., Inc., Middleboro, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 304,178 22 Claims. (Cl. 211-42) This invention relates to desk or table mounts and has for its principal objects to provide a structure which affords support for a calendar pad or the like and, in addition, provides a retainer for supporting flat articles on edge in an upright position; to provide a structure which is of variable capacity, capable of holding one or more sheets of paper, envelopes, brochures, books and the like on edge; to provide a structure wherein resistance to displacement of the supporting components and the reactive forces resulting therefrom provide support which increases, within the limits of the strength of the material, with the increase in thickness of the article or articles being supported; and to provide a structure which is attractive, especially simple to manufacture, susceptible of manufacture from paperboard or sheet plastic, may be shipped flat, and may be set up without need of braces or fastening elements.

As herein illustrated, the structure comprises a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel supporting panels mounted on the base in face-to-face contact, and means supporting the panels for relative movement in parallel planes. The supporting means is increasingly resistant to displacement and comprises elements of equal length connected to the upper edge of one of the panels and to the base, some of the elements at one end being conncted to the one panel at a greater distance from the lower edge of the one panel than others and at their opposite ends to the base closer to the plane of the one panel than the corresponding ends of the other elements. In one form of the invention the supporting means is the same for each of the supporting panels. Alternatively, one of the supporting panels is hingedly connected at its lower edge to the base and there is means for supporting it at an angle to the base, preferably perpendicular thereto, so as to be parallel to the other supporting panel, by a leg and brace or by a deformable element embodied in the hinge operative, by deformation, to hold the supporting panel in a selected position.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation ofthe structure broken away in part,v the rear elevation being identical therewith;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation shown with the supporting panels engaged in parallel relation;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation showing a book supported between the supporting panels;

FIG. 5 diagrammatically shows the hinged relation of the parts which afford increasing resistance to displacement of the supporting panels in proportion to their separation;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the blank of which the structure is made;

FIG. 6a is an end view of the structure folded into a compact package;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section of a structure comprised of plastic showing a plastic hinge;

FIG. 8 is an elevation of the structure with the center panels hingedly connected to the base at a greater distance from the longitudinal center line than the flanking panels;

FIG. 9 is an end elevation of the structure with the panels hingedly attached to the upper surface in spaced parallel relation to each other and to the longitudinal center line of the base;

3,15%,777 Patented Sept. 29, 1964 lCe FIG. l0 is a perspective view of an alternative form of the structure, as seen from the rear side;

FIG. ll is an end elevation showing the structure with a book supported thereby;

FIG. lla is an end view of the structure shown in FIG. l1, folded into a compact package for mailing;

FIG. l2 is a fragmentary section of a hinge containing a deformable element; and

FIG. 13 is a plan View of a blank.

The structure, in one form, is symmetrical both longitudinally, that is, end-to-end, and transversely, that is, front-to-back, and comprises a flat, substantially rectangular base I0, center elements IZ-IZ and flanking elements Irl-I4 sloping upwardly from the base It) and toward each other, and parallel supporting panels 16-16 substantially perpendicular to the base, with their lower edges spaced therefrom or in engagement therewith, which may be separated in planes parallel to each other to receive an article for support, for example a book B (FIG. 4), and will be sufficiently resistant to displacement to support both very thin articles, such as sheets of paper, thick relatively heavy articles, such as books. The sloping surfaces of the center elements provide support for calendar pads, advertising, and the like.

The center elements 12;-12 are pivotally connected by hinges lS-l to the base and the flanking elements 14-14 are pivotally connected by hinges Ztl-20 to the base in spaced parallel relation, so that the hinges It-13 are located closer to the longitudinal center line of the base than the hinges Ztl-2t). The supporting panels 16-16 are pivotally suspended from the upper ends of the center and flanking elements by hinges 22-22 and 24-24, situated in spaced parallel planes, so that the hinges 22-22 are connected to the supporting panels I-.I further from the base than the hinges 244-24. The center and flanking elements may be of the same or different lengths.

As shown in FIG. 8, the relation of the center and flanking elements relative to the longitudinal center line of the base may be reversed, that is, the hinges at the lower ends of the center elements may be located further from the longitudinal center line of the base than the hinges at the lower ends of the flanking elements. As thus modified, the upper ends of the center elements will be located closer to the base than the upper ends of the flanking elements.

The construction illustrated in the foregoing figures requires that the base, as shown in FIGS. l to 6, contain along its longitudinal front and rear edges rectangular notches 12a, located intermediate the ends of the edges, corresponding in length to the width of the center elements, and in FIG. 8 notches (not shown) at the ends of the edges, corresponding in width to the width of the flanking elements. FIG. 9 shows a form of the invention wherein the base is provided with straight front and rear edges and the lower ends of the elements are attached to its upper side with the lower ends of the center elements closer to the longitudinal center line of the base than the lower ends of the flanking elements, or vice versa. As illustrated, the lower ends of the elements have hingedly connected tabs 12b and Mb, attached to the base by means of adhesive or staples a.

When the supporting panels 16--6 are displaced in parallel planes, for example to receive a book B (FIG. 4), the upright panels resist displacement due to the fact that their upper ends are prevented from moving relative to each other and that their lower ends are pivoted for movement about different axes of rotation (FIG. 5). Separation of the suporting panels to accommodate items of different thickness is effected primarily through elastic yielding of the component parts and of a certain amount of give in the hinge structures. Such yielding is resisted by the inherent stillness of the material to a greater-andgreater degree as the supporting panels are separated up to, of course, a limiting pressure which would be destructive to the material of which the mount is made. When the structure is made of paperboard, the hinges are formed by covering the edges of adjacent components, which are to be connected for pivotal movement relative to each other, on both sides with paper which, in accordance with conventional practice, may be the decorative covering paper applied to the board, or by a heavier paper applied across the edges beneath the decorative paper where exceptional strength is required.

If the supported material is removed the component panels at each of the sides may be lifted upwardly and folded outwardly, as shown in FIG. 5, which diagrammatically represents one side, only, of the structure, until the component parts of the two sides lie in a common plane thus making it exceptionally easy to manufacture this structure.

If the elements are of the same length the parts may be folded inwardly toward each other to provide a compact package for mailing, as shown in FIG. 6a.

A blank ready for folding is shown in FIG. 6, comprised of sheets of material such as cardboard a subjected to a die-cutting operation to form slots b transversely thereof and incisions c longitudinally thereof. A covering d holds the several parts, represented by the reference characters corresponding to the parts referred to in FIGS. l, 2 and 3, in hinged relation to each other.

While the structure is illustrated herein as being made of cardboard, it is within the scope of the invention to make it of any stiff somewhat elastic sheet material and some of the plastics now available are suitable for this purpose, in particular, plastics in which a plastic hinge h may be formed integral with the parts, as fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 7. Such hinges have been found to be substantially indestructible in exure and are admirably suited for making the structure shown herein.

An alternative form of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 13 inclusive. As there shown, the structure 10a comprises supporting panels 2S and 30 mounted on a rigid base 32 in face-to-face contact for relative movement of the supporting panels away from each other in parallel planes to receive an article to be supported in an upright position on the base. In this form of the invention, the panel 2S is connected at its lower end to one edge of the base 32 by a hinge 34 which may be of the type conventionally used in structures of this character, commonly known as a paper hinge, wherein the adjacent edges of the panels are connected solely by iiexible paper crossing from one edge to the other. When using this type of hinge the supporting panel is provided with a leg 36 and a brace 38 for supporting it in the desired angular relation to the base, as herein shown perpendicular thereto. The leg and brace may be cut out of the supporting panel in conventional manner. If desired, a reinforcing panel may be applied to the outer side of the supporting panel 23 from which the leg and brace may be formed.

The supporting panel 30 is suspended at its upper edge, as disclosed in the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 inclusive, by means of elements 40 and 42 connected at their ends to the upper edge of the supporting panel and to the base 32. As illustrated, there is a center element 40 connected by a hinge 44 to the upper edge of the supporting panel 30 and elements 42 connected to the upper edge of the supporting panel 30 by hinges 46. The lower end of the supporting element 40 is connected by a hinge 43 to the base and the lower ends of the elements 42 are connected by hinges Sil to the base 32. The hinge 44 is at a greater distance from the lower edge of the supporting panel 30 than the hinges 46 and the hinge 48 is at a lesser distance from the plane of the supporting panel 30 than the hinges Sti. As indicated in the description of the form of the invention shown in FIGS.

4 1 to 9 inclusive, these elements may be of equal or unequal length and their connections to the supporting panel and base may be reversed. If the elements are of equal length, the structure may be folded to form a substantially fiat compact package for mailing as shown in FIG. 11a.

Instead of using the leg and brace for supporting the supporting panel 28, a deformable element 52 may be incorporated in the hinge joining the lower edge of the panel 28 to the base 32 as shown in FIG. 12. The deformable element 52 is a soft metal strip incorporated in the hinge by embedding its edges in the edges of the panel and base.

FIG. 13 shows a blank from which the structure illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 1l is formed and its parts are identified by means of reference characters corresponding to those applied to the parts shown in FIGS. 10 and ll.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel supporting panels mounted on the base in face-to-face contact, and means supporting said panels for relative movement in parallel planes, said means resisting such movement increasingly with displacement and comprising elements connected to the upper edge of one of the panels and to the base, some of said elements at one end being connected to said one panel at a greater distance from the lower edge thereof than others and at their other ends being connected to the base closer to the plane of said panel than the corresponding ends of said other elements.

2. A structure comprising a rigid base and vertically disposed, parallel supporting panels mounted on the base, said supporting panels being movable relative to each other in parallel planes to accommodate therebetween an article to be supported in an upright position on the base, said panels being resistant to such displacement, and means suspending one of the panels from its upper edge, comprising elements connected to the base and the upper edge of `said one panel, with the ends of certain of the elements further from the lower edge of said one panel than others, and the other ends of said other of said elements being further from the plane of said one panel than said certain elements.

3. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel supporting panels mounted on the base in face-to-face contact, and means supporting one of the panels for relative movement in planes parallel to the other, said means comprising three elements hingedly connected at one end to the upper edge of said one panel and at their other ends to the base, the hinges at the ends of said one element being, respectively, further from the lower edge of said one panel and closer to the plane of said one panel than the corresponding hinges of the other elements.

4. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel panels mounted on the base in face-to-face contact, means holding one of the panels in a plane perpendicular to the base, and means supporting the other panel for movement in planes parallel to said one panel, comprising three supporting elements hingedly connected at their opposite ends to the upper edge of said one panel and to the base, the hinges at the ends of one of the elements being located further from the lower end of said one panel and closer to the plane of said one panel than the corresponding hinges at the ends of the other elements.

5. A structure comprising a rigid base, a center element and two anking elements at each of two parallel edges, said center elements and said flanking elements being hinged to the base at spaced parallel lines in the plane of the base, and supporting panels to the upper edges of which the upper ends of the center elements and anking elements are hinged in spaced parallel relation, said supporting panels hanging from fthe upper ends of the center .elements and anking elements in parallel planes.

6. A structure comprising 4a rigid base having spaced t parallel edges, center and flanking elements ateach of two of its lparallel edges, said `center and llanking elements lcomprising ,rigid panels hinged at their ,lower ends for pivotal movement about spaced parallel axes lying in the plane ofthe base, and supporting panels situated lengthwise `of the base between said parallel edges to which the upper ends of thecenter and flanking elements are pivotally connected in spaced parallel relation, said supporting .panels hanging from the upper ends of said elements downwardly in parallel relation -and being separable in parallel planes, movement of the supporting panels away from each other in parallel planes maintainingthe pivotally `connected upper ends vof Vthe elements in Xed relation to each other.

7. A structure comprising va rigid base having spaced parallel edges, three elements at each of two of its parallel edges, saidelements being hinged at-their lower ends for pivotal movementabout spaced parallel aXes parallel to the base, and supporting panels to the upper edges of which theupper ends `of the elements `are pivotally connected for pivotal movement of the center elements and yflanking elements relative to the supporting panels on spaced parallel axes in'theplanes ofthe supporting panels, said supporting panels extending substantially vertically downward from the upper ends of the elements in parallel relation substantially in contact with the hase and being separable in parallel planes to receive an article therebetween, and said elements being increasingly resistant to the separation of said supporting panels as the supporting panels are separated.

8. A structure comprising a rigid base, -a center element and two flanking elements at each of two parallel edges of the base, said flanking elements and center elements being hinged to the base with the hinges of the flanking elements parallel to those of the center elements but further from the longitudinal center line of the base than the hinges of the center elements, and supporting panels to which the upper ends of the center elements and flanking elements are hinged in spaced parallel relation with the hinges of the center elements further from the base than the hinges of the flanking elements.

9. A structure comprising a base having spaced parallel edges, center elements sloping upwardly from said parallel edges toward each other, pairs of flanking elements sloping upwardly from said parallel edges toward each other at more acute base angles than the base angles of the center elements, and supporting panels perpendicular to the base pivotally connected at their upper edges to the center and flanking elements and unconnected at their lower edges.

l0. A structure comprising a base, a pair of vertically disposed, parallel supporting panels situated parallel to and intermediate a pair of parallel edges of the base, and means suspending the supporting panels at their upper edges with their lower edges engaged with the base, comprising center elements and flanking elements hinged to the base and supporting panels so that the planes of the center elements slope at diiferent angles than the planes of the flanking elements.

ll. A structure according to claim 10, wherein the hinges connecting the center elements to the base and supporting panels are offset from the hinges connecting the flanking elements to the base and supporting panels in the planes of the base and supporting panels and parallel thereto.

12. A structure comprising a rigid base, a center element and two anking elements at each of two parallel sides, said anking elements and center elements being hinged to the base with the hinges of the flanking elements parallel to those of the center elements but inwardly 5 thereof relative to the longitudinal center line of the base, and supporting panels to which the upper ends of the center elements and iianking elements are hinged in spaced parallel relation with thehinges of the center elements ,nearer the base than the hinges of the flanking elements.

13. A structure comprising a rigid base, a center element and two flanking elements at each of twoopposite edges'of the base, said edges containing, intermediate their ends, rectangular notches corresponding in length to the width of the center elements which vhave lbottom edges spaced inwardly fromthe edges of the base and parallel thereto, hinges connecting the lower ends of the center elements to the bottom edges of the notches, hinges connecting the lower ends of the flanking elements to the edge portions of the base at opposite ends of-thenotches, supporting panels disposed longitudinallyof the base midway between the opposed edges, and'hingesconnecting the center and ianking elements to the upper edges of the supporting panels, said hinges of the center elements being situated further from the base than the hinges of the flanking elements.

14. A structure comprising a rigid base, a center element and flanking elements at each of two opposite edges of the base, said edges containing at their ends rectangular notches corresponding in length to the widths of the lflanking elements which have bottom edges spaced inwardly from the edges of the base and parallel thereto, hinges connecting the lower ends of the center elements to the edges of the base intermediate the notches, hinges connecting the lower ends of the anking elements to the bottom edges of the notches at the ends, supporting panels disposed lengthwise of the base midway between the opposed edges, and hinges connecting the center and anking elements to the upper edges of the supporting panels, the hinges of the center elements being situated nearer the base than the hinges of the flanking elements.

l5. A structure comprising a rigid base having spaced parallel straight edges, a center element and flanking elements at each of two opposite edges of the base, hinges at the lower ends of the center elements pivotally securing the lower ends of the center elements to the base inwardly of said edges and parallel thereto, hinges at the lower ends of the anking elements securing the lower ends of the flanking elements to the base at said edges, supporting panels disposed lengthwise of the base between the center and flanking elements, and hinges connecting the center elements and anking elements to the upper edges of the supporting panels, the hinges of the center elements being situated in spaced parallel relation to the hinges of the ilanking elements and further from the base than the hinges of the anking elements.

16. A structure according to claim l5, wherein the hinges at the lower ends of the elements are constituted by extensions of the lower ends secured to the base by fastening means.

17. A structure according to claim l, comprised of a homogeneous plastic wherein the hinges connecting the several components are integral portions of the plastic of reduced crossasection.

18. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel panels mounted on the base in face-to-face contact, means connecting the lower edge of one of the panels to one edge of the base for disposition substantially perpendicular thereto, means connecting the lower edge of one of the panels to one edge of the base operative to hold said one panel substantially perpendicular to the base at said edge, and means hingedly connecting the upper edge of the other panel to the opposite edge of the base operative to hold said other panel substantially parallel to the one panel, said means comprising three elements hingedly connected at their opposite ends to the upper edge of said other panel and to the outer edge of the base, the hinges at the ends of one of the elements being located further from the lower end of said other panel and closer to the plane of said other panel than the corresponding hinges at the ends of the other elements.

19. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel panels mounted on the base in face-to-face Contact, means hingedly connecting the lower edge of one of the panels to one edge of the base, means hingedly connecting the upper edge of the other panel to the opposite edge of the base, a leg and brace associated with said one panel operative to hold said one panel perpendicular to the base at said end, and said last means comprising three elements hingedly connected at their opposite ends to the upper edge of said other panel and to the outer edge of the base, the hinges at the ends of one of the elements being located further from the lower end of said other panel and closer to the plane of said other panel than the corresponding hinges at the ends of the other elements.

20. A structure according to claim 19, wherein said means hingedly connecting the lower edge of the one panel to the base includes a deformable element operative, by deformation, to hold the panel at an angle to the base.

21. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel panels mounted on the base in face-toface contact, rst means hingedly connecting the lower edge of one panel to one edge of the base, second means hingedly `connecting the upper edge of the other panel to the opposite edge of the base, a leg and brace associated with said one panel operative to hold said one panel perpendicular to the base at said edge, said second hinge means connecting the upper edge of the other panel to the base comprising three supporting elements hingedly connected at their opposite ends to the upper edge of the panel and to the opposite edge of the base, the hinges at the ends of one of the elements being located further from the lower edge of said other panel and closer to the plane of said other panel than the corresponding hinges at the ends of the other elements.

22. A structure comprising a rigid base, vertically disposed, parallel panels mounted on the base in faCe-to-face contact, rst means holding one of the panels in a plane perpendicular to the base, and second means supporting the other panel for movement in a plane parallel to the one panel, said rst means comprising a leg hinged t0 said one panel and a brace operative to hold the leg at an angle thereto, and said second means comprising three supporting elements hingedly connected at their opposite ends to the upper edge of the other panel and to the base so 'that the hinges at the ends of one of the elements are located further from the lower edge of said other panel and closer to the plane of said other panel than the corresponding hinges at the ends of the other elements.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,471,536 Nichols May 31, 1949 

1. A STRUCTURE COMPRISING A RIGID BASE, VERTICALLY DISPOSED, PARALLEL SUPPORTING PANELS MOUNTED ON THE BASE IN FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT, AND MEANS SUPPORTING SAID PANELS FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT IN PARALLEL PLANES, SAID MEANS RESISTING SUCH MOVEMENT INCREASINGLY WITH DISPLACEMENT AND COMPRISING ELEMENTS CONNECTED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF ONE OF THE PANELS AND TO THE BASE, SOME OF SAID ELEMENTS AT ONE END BEING CONNECTED TO SAID ONE PANEL AT A GREATER DISTANCE FROM THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF THAN OTHERS AND AT THEIR OTHER ENDS BEING CONNECTED TO THE BASE CLOSER TO THE PLANE OF SAID PANEL THAN THE CORRESPONDING ENDS OF SAID OTHER ELEMENTS. 